Reception:

Thursday, December 3

6 – 8pm

Visual Arts Gallery

601 West 26 Street, 15th floor

Featuring over 90 works by faculty, alumni and students from the BFA Fine Arts Department at the School of Visual Arts (SVA), "Octet: Codes and Contexts in Recent Art" offers a multi-generational response to current trends in contemporary artistic practice. Curated by Department Chair Suzanne Anker and faculty member Peter Hristoff, "Octet" presents an amalgam of stylistic concerns as a way to show the dynamic flow of advancing patterns within the visual arts today. The selected works reflect the preponderance of available influences in a global, media-driven society, where technology allows for instantaneous transmission of culture and access to an enormous data bank of shared images and ideas.

The exhibition is divided into eight thematic sections: Word and Image, examining visual articulations of language; Identity and Identity Politics, looking at constructions of self and community in today's heterogeneous world culture; Post Pop Art and Tabloid Culture, commenting on the proliferation of consumerism and celebrity culture via mass media today; The Corporeal and Divine, addressing the ways that religion, spirituality and myth narrate concerns over ethical dilemmas; Material Matters, exploring the syntax of matter and its novel combinations and possibilities; Narrative Imperatives, delving into the fantasy life of the human psyche; World Dramas, centering on the expression of widely-held societal concerns like ecological stewardship, geopolitical tensions and economic meltdowns; and Relational Aesthetics, a sampling of recent experiments in interactivity, audience participation and ways to create collective social experiences through works of art.

In conjunction with the exhibition, SVA will present Modernism and the Global Diaspora, a panel discussion on the impact of the global art scene on Modernism. Panelists include: Thelma Golden, executive director and chief curator of the Studio Museum in Harlem; Hou Hanru, director of exhibitions and public programs at the San Francisco Art Institute; Susan Hefuna, an artist based in Egypt and Germany; and Vasif Kortun, director of the Platform Garanti Contemporary Arts Center in Istanbul. The discussion will be moderated by SVA faculty member David Ross, former director of the Whitney Museum of American Art and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The discussion will take place on December 1, 2009, 7pm at the SVA Theatre, located at 333 West 23 Street.

"Octet" was previously on view at the Suna and Inan Kiraç Foundation Pera Museum in Istanbul, Turkey from August 13 – October 4, 2009. The Suna and Inan Kiraç Foundation Pera Museum and the Visual Arts Gallery presentations of "Octet" have been supported by the following institutions: the Turkish Culture and Tourism Office in New York, The American Turkish Society, the Moon and Stars Project and the U.S. Consulate General in Istanbul.

School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York City is an established leader and innovator in the education of artists. From its inception in 1947, the faculty has been comprised of professionals working in the arts and art-related fields. SVA provides an environment that nurtures creativity, inventiveness and experimentation, enabling students to develop a strong sense of identity and a clear direction of purpose.

Wednesday-Saturday, December 16-19, 8:00 PM
Sunday, December 20, 3:00 PM

3 Nokta Oyunculari present their first project comprised of two one-act Turkish plays. The first play “Bir Kahramanın Ölümü (The Death of a Hero)” was written by Adalet Ağaoğlu, a prominent Turkish novelist-playwright who is known for her conceptual explorations and philosophical expressions; the second play, “Bir Ölümün Kahramanı (The Hero of a Death),” is a stage adaptation of Agaoglu’s famous novel, Lying Down to Die (Olmeye Yatmak, 1973), written by Fulya Peker. Both plays tackle the issue of heroism on different levels. The program is performed in Turkish.

Directed By: Manfred Bormann
Cast: Cem Baza, Fulya Peker
Design: Merve Sıla Karakaya
Choreography: Korhan Başaran

Presented by: Güngör Mimaroğlu and Serdar İlhan
Sponsored in part by The American Turkish Society, Anatolianjewelry.com, Beyhan Karahan & Associates, Architects, P.C, Moon and Stars Project, Turkish-American Business Forum

Narrated by an author on vacation among the classical ruins of the ancient city of Side on the Mediterranean coast in Turkey, Summer’s End provides an intricate picture of a large cross-section of modern Turkish society. The novel offers a complex multi-dimensional and multi-leveled view of cultural values, politics, sexuality, and personal dilemmas.

Adalet Agaoglu received a degree in French literature from Ankara University and worked for the Turkish State Radio and Television in the 1950s. She is well known for her innovative writing style and social commentary on the Republican Era. She is the author of the award-winning novel A Wedding Night and several other novels, short story collections, and plays.

This month's discussion will be moderated by Edward Foster, Professor of History and Associate Dean for Administration of the College of Arts and Letters at Stevens Institute of Technology. Professor Foster is the founder of Talisman House Publishers, which published the first English translation of Summer's End.

Note: 3 Nokta Oyunculari will perform (in Turkish) Adalet Agaoglu's “Bir Kahramanin Olumu,” along with Fulya Peker's "Bir Olumun Kahramani," inspired by Adalet Agaoglu's famous novel "Olmeye Yatmak" on December 16 - 19 at the Producers’ Club in New York. The project is supported by The American Turkish Society and Moon and Stars Project. For details and ticket information visit 3 Nokta Oyunculari or call (917) 561-1394.

The American Turkish Society Book Club offers recommendations, resources and lively discussion in order to promote a greater understanding of Turkey’s history, current affairs, people, culture, and relations with the rest of the world. With the assistance of moderators, members convene monthly to discuss a pre-selected book. Discussions in the past have centered around critically acclaimed fiction set during Ottoman times and in modern Turkey; contemporary works and those from as early as the 1930s; and writings by Turkish and non-Turkish authors on women’s issues, urban and rural life, religion, and many other topics.

The American Turkish Society and The Levin Institute present the
Second Annual Levin Turkish Fulbright Lecture Series with

Dr. Onur Yildirim
Associate Professor
Middle East Technical University
Fulbright/Levin Distinguished Scholar in Turkish Affairs
Binghamton University (SUNY)

"The 1923 Turco-Greek Exchange of Populations and its Relevance for Today"

Presentation will begin at 6:00 p.m. followed by a reception at 7:30 p.m. This program is presented with SUNY's Office of International Programs.

Please RSVP by December 1, 2009
maryalice.mazzara@levininstitute.org
Dr. Maryalice Mazzara 212.317.3560
Online registration is not available for this event.

The closing night screening program starts at 6pm with Yeşim Ustaoğlu’s Pandora’s Box, a drama that tells the story of alienation and isolation. A short film is next: Senem Tuzen's Milk and Chocolate (8pm) which portrays the inner world of Emine, and her childhood struggles. The festival then closes with a truly inspiring documentary by Kazim Öz’s The Last Season: Shawaks on the life of members of the nomadic Shawak community living in villages of near Tunceli in Eastern Turkey.

NYTFF screenings continue with two other exciting contemporary films: Özcan Alper’s psychological drama Autumn(7pm), set against the post 90s modern realities and urban dysfunction, presents an unlikely affair between a young former political activist, just released from prison, and a Georgian prostitute at the Eastern Black Sea region of Turkey. The sense and meaning of family is explored in the next film (9pm), Reha Erdem’s My Only Sunshine.

Presented in conjunction with “Octet: Codes and Context in Recent Art,” an exhibition of works by faculty, students and alumni of the BFA Fine Arts Department at the School of Visual Arts, the 11th New York Turkish Film Festival opens at 7:00pm with Atalay Taşdiken’s Mommo: The Bogeyman, based on the true story of two siblings in the authentic landscapes of Çavuş village, near Konya in central Turkey. The lonely struggles of the youth find voice in the subsequent film (9pm), Black Dogs Barking by Mehmet Bahadır Er and Maryna Gorbach, this time in the outskirts of Istanbul, where two best friends’ dreams of wealth turn to nightmares with the local mafia.

The American Turkish Society’s Education Program, in collaboration with Global Friendship Through Space Education, is pleased to announce Global Friendship Club: a monthly gathering of past, current and prospective participants of Space Camp Turkey. The meeting, which is the second one this year, provides an opportunity for cultural exchange among American and Turkish-American youth, as well as peers from sisters schools in Turkey.

Global Friendship Through Space Education , a California-based non-profit organization founded in 2002 by Kaya and Mary Tuncer, is dedicated to promoting friendship among young people from different countries and cultures through the study of space-related science and technology. Through its International Scholarship Program, GFTSE awards scholarships for young people, aged 12-15, from over thirty different countries to participate in a 6-Day International Summer Camp at Space Camp Turkey,the third NASA-licensed Space Camp in the world and the only such facility in Turkey, the Middle East, eastern/southern Europe and Asia, located in Izmir, Turkey. The program motivates students to pursue studies in science and math and promotes cross-cultural understanding between students from different part of the world.

The American Turkish Society supports a variety of educational programs in order to serve our mission of enhancing relations and understanding between the U.S. and Turkey. We have been pleased to partner with GFTSE in increasing the number of U.S. students participating in Space Camp Turkey through scholarships to deserving but underprivileged students from New York.

Please RSVP to info@americanturkishsociety.org

Supporting scholarships for NYC students to Space Camp Turkey with The American Turkish Society

Tuition in the 6-day International Summer Camp at Space Camp Turkey and sightseeing expenses total $800 per student. The American Turkish Society will match your contributions in order to generate scholarship funds for summer of 2010.

For more information on the program and how to contribute, please contact Selen Ucak, Executive Director, at 212.583.7614 or selen.ucak@americanturkishsociety.org

A result of the joint efforts of State University of New York at Fredonia, and Atlantik Film, one of Turkey’s largest production companies, Youth Filmmaking Project is a 18-month program designed to train Turkish students to produce films about important social issues such as democracy, human rights, women’s issues etc. The students are selected from six Turkish cities, chosen as training sites where they work in groups to produce three films in each city. The cities, chosen on the basis of geographic diversity and economic status, are Edirne, Konya, Antakya, Sivas, Mardin and Artvin.

In the final stages of the program, the students are invited to the United States to continue training in filmmaking and participate in film festivals featuring their films. In addition to bolstering the professional skills of student filmmakers, the program has the added benefit of creating cultural awareness and understanding, and raising cognizance about salient social issues.

Co-Project Director Ted Schwalbe will be in attendance during the screening.

The screenings will be followed by a one-hour cocktail reception sponsored by Turkish Kitchen.

In his first live performance in New York as part of the third edition of the internationally acclaimed biennial of new visual art, artist Ahmet Ögüt develops a conversation with Devorah Greenspan, a blind New York-based painter, to pay tribute to Hrant Dink, Turkish-Armenian journalist, newspaper editor and columnist who was assassinated in 2007. Ögüt not only shares what he knows about Dink's physical attributes, but also his philosophy, his writings, his love for his country, his dreams as well as his fears, particularly referring to Dink's last article that was published in the Armenian-Turkish newspaper Agos on January 10, 2007, entitled The Pigeon-like Unease of My Inner Spirit.

Curated by Performa’s Defne Ayas with assistance by Özge Ersoy

Ahmet Ögüt

Born in 1981 in Diyarbakir, Ögüt is a conceptual artist who lives and works in Amsterdam. He uses a variety of media including video, film, and illustration to explore social structures, religion, power, and daily life. His unique subject choices and vivid imagination have resulted in a long string of work. For example, his solo exhibitions, “Things We Count” (Kuenstlerhaus Bremen, DE, 2009); “Mutual Issues, Inventive Acts” (Kunsthalle Basel, CH, 2008); and group exhibitions, “Pavilion of Turkey 53rd International Art Exhibition”, “Happy Together” (Critical Reflection on Collective Identities, Tallinn Art Hall, EE, 2009); “Today in History” (Centre for Visual Introspection, Bukarest, RO, 2009); and film and video screenings, “She Does Not Think So But She is Dressed For the H-Bomb” (Tate Modern, London, UK, 2008), among many other works. Ögüt was a guest artist at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam from 2007-2008, and his work continues to span across Europe, the United States and Middle East.

The New York artist enrolled in a drawing class just a few years ago. Prior to that she hadn’t seriously considered creating visual artwork, aside from the “off limits” doodles she’d been creating due to her vision loss. By now, her artwork has been featured in New York City’s Viridian Gallery, the Object Image Gallery, and at the Bay Ridge Art Fair, as well as the Educational Alliance.

Defne Ayas is a Curator for Performa, where she has been presenting performances and performance-related programs since June 2004. Working between New York and Shanghai since 2006, Defne Ayas works as a director of ArtHub, serving China and the rest of Asia, and as an art history instructor at New York University’s Shanghai Center. Ayas currently serves as a curatorial advisor to Artissima, Turin; The 8th Gwangju Biennial; CCA in Kabul, Afghanistan, and Artist Pension Trust.

The American Turkish Society and Moon and Stars Project
are pleased to co-sponsor
Queens International Film Festival Opening Night Film:
Cars of the Revolution (Devrim Arabalari)

A feature film by acclaimed Turkish Director Tolga Ornek, Cars of the Revolution takes place in 1961 when during a cocktail reception following a national convention on Turkey's automobile industry, prominent Turkish journalists, bureaucrats and businessmen join President Cemal Gursel in a discussion of the country's potential of building its own automobile industry. When the president says Turkey has the power to manufacture cars on its own, the issue suddenly turns into a challenge that everybody in attendance is willing to take.

The screening will be followed by an after party starting at 10:00pm at the rooftop of the Ravel Luxury Boutique Hotel (8-08 Queens Plaza South, Long Island City).

Special thanks to DJ Pepe, Gulluoglu USA, Kebab House and Kebab Garden

In his first appearance at the PoetryCenter, Orhan Pamuk reads from The Museum of Innocence, his first novel since winning the Nobel Prize in 2006. "Pamuk gives us what all novelists give us at their best: the truth," wrote Margaret Atwood. "Not the truth of statistics, but the truth of human experience at a particular place, in a particular time. And as with all great literature, you feel at moments not that you are examining him, but that he is examining you."

SPECIAL OFFER FOR ATS BOOK CLUB:
$19 tickets (reg. $27) available. Use code ATS for tickets. Click www.92y.org/poetry or call 212.415.5500.

A stirring exploration of the nature of romantic attachment and of the mysterious allure of collecting, The Museum of Innocence also plumbs the depths of an Istanbul half Western and half traditional—its emergent modernity, its vast cultural history.

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This event replaces the ATS Book Club meeting scheduled for November 16. Our next Book Club will meet on Monday, December 14.

Please join us for an evening of dance for the premiere of “Present Present Present” by York Dance Works. The program features Turkish choreographer Korhan Başaran in “Seeking Beauty”, a sextet with baroque music by composers Couperin, Corelli, Handel and Purcell. It also includes York Dance Work’s newest work, “Present Times Distant Measures “choreographed by Artistic Director Lucy York Struever with original music by Nat Osborn. Two duets by York Dance Works company members Matt Adams and Marybeth Hanley, the duet “Elegy” by Korhan Başaran, and a revised “Sweet Here and There” by Ms. Struever round outs the program.

Cast & Credits
Choreographer: Korhan Başaran
Music: A. Corelli, A. Schnittke, F. Couperin...
Dancers: Christiana Axelsen, Becky Chaleff, Peiju Chen, Milan Misko, Jean-Rene Homehr, Korhan Başaran

Screening Times & Performance Dates:
Friday, November 6, 2009 at 9:00 pm, Saturday, November 7, 2009 at 8:00pm, and Sunday, November 8, 2009 at 7:00 pm

Tickets: $20 (adults), $15 (students and industry)

KORHAN BAŞARAN Born in Bursa in 1977, Korhan holds a BA from Bilkent University’s Theater Department (2001) and an MBA in Art Management from Yeditepe University. He started his dance career, working with Binnaz Dorkip and subsequently with Zeynep Tanbay, Beyhan Murphy; and took classes from the avant-garde dance legend Merce Cunningham. He danced for the Ankara State Opera and Ballet's Modern Dance Turkey and his performances in Alice in Ankara, Avaz, Body Heat, Triptic Excile, Seyahatname and Tango Reflections (with Mehmet Okonsar) received rave reviews. One of his choreographies A Dialogue for One was one of the chosen 15 pieces over 200 and was selected as part of the International Competition for Choreographers in Hannover. He took part in various plays such as The Merry Wives of Windsor, All My Sons, Mademoselle Nitus, Pares y Nines, Deathtrap and Napoli, City of Billionaires and leading performances in Hurrem Sultan Dance Project and Night of the Sultans of Marcel Avram. Korhan created the original choreography for Hisseli Harikalar Kumpanyasi, the first ever Turkish musical produced in New York, and created The Loving- a compilation of his own duet choreographies on the theme "love". Most recently, he performed with Mark Lamb Dance, a New York based company, for the reconstruction of Merce Cunnigham’s Tread. He lives in New York City.

The American Turkish Society’s Education Program, in collaboration with Global Friendship Through Space Education, is pleased to announce Global Friendship Club: a monthly gathering of past, current and prospective participants of Space Camp Turkey. The Club, open to all 12-15 year-old students, will provide an opportunity for cultural exchange among American and Turkish-American youth, as well as peers from sisters schools in Turkey.

Global Friendship Through Space Education , a California-based non-profit organization founded in 2002 by Kaya and Mary Tuncer, is dedicated to promoting friendship among young people from different countries and cultures through the study of space-related science and technology. Through its International Scholarship Program, GFTSE awards scholarships for young people, aged 12-15, from over thirty different countries to participate in a 6-Day International Summer Camp at Space Camp Turkey,the third NASA-licensed Space Camp in the world and the only such facility in Turkey, the Middle East, eastern/southern Europe and Asia, located in Izmir, Turkey. The program motivates students to pursue studies in science and math and promotes cross-cultural understanding between students from different part of the world.

The American Turkish Society supports a variety of educational programs in order to serve our mission of enhancing relations and understanding between the U.S. and Turkey. We have been pleased to partner with GFTSE in increasing the number of U.S. students participating in Space Camp Turkey through scholarships to deserving but underprivileged students from New York.

Supporting scholarships for NYC students to Space Camp Turkey with The American Turkish Society:
Tuition in the 6-day International Summer Camp at Space Camp Turkey and sightseeing expenses total $800 per student. The American Turkish Society will match your contributions in order to generate scholarship funds for summer of 2010. For more information on the program and how to contribute, please contact Selen Ucak, Executive Director, at 212.583.7614 or selen.ucak@americanturkishsociety.org

Mixed Media Art Exhibition by Anıl Duran Presented by Moon and Stars Project and The American Turkish Society

Reception: Thursday, October 22 2009 6:00pm-8:00pm

Gallery hours: 11am-7:00 pm daily

Free Admission

Curated by Zishan Uğurlu

“A piece of rope, another one longer and thinner, muffle, some stroke no splinter, a couple of pebbles, a sunflower and detached petals, some broken part of an old toy, a little sand, mother's stolen buttons, mother's pins, a few broken kitchen tools, piece of bruised paper, fishbone, grandma’s ripped unfinished knitting...”is how Anıl Duran describes his art that uses a spontaneous language driven by the story of place and time.

Opening reception is sponsored by Turkish Kitchen.

This program is presented as a part of the Moon and Stars Project's “Community Grants” program, which provides assistance to projects of high standards in order to encourage local artistic efforts and initiatives in the Turkish-American community.

The American Turkish Society Book Club Discusses The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak

Populated with vibrant characters, The Bastard of Istanbul is the story of two families, one Turkish and one Armenian American, and their struggle to forge their unique identities, as their lives come together through a marriage which brings forth a family secret going back to the events of 1915. Filled with humor and understanding, this exuberant, dramatic novel is about memory and forgetting, about the tension between the need to examine the past and the desire to erase it.

Elif Shafak is one of Turkey’s most acclaimed and outspoken novelists. She was born in 1971 and is the author of nine novels to date, most recently, “Siyah Süt” (Black Milk), “The Bastard of Istanbul” (Baba ve Pic) and “Ask” (Love). She teaches at the University of Arizona and divides her time between the US and Istanbul.

The American Turkish Society Book Club offers recommendations, resources and lively readers’ discussions in order to promote a greater understanding of Turkey’s history, current affairs, people, culture, and relations with the rest of the world. With the assistance of moderators, members get together monthly to discuss a book that they have read. Discussions in the past included critically acclaimed fiction set during the Ottoman times and in modern Turkey; contemporary works and those from as early as the 30s; written by Turkish and non-Turkish authors; touching on women’s issues, urban and rural life, religion, and much more.

Please RSVP online or by emailing info@americanturkishsociety.org by Wednesday, October 15.

Please save the date for the next book club discussions:
November 16 and December 14

BECOME A VOLUNTEER

The Society is seeking committed volunteers to help run our Book Club. Please contact info@americanturkishsociety.org with brief information about yourself and your interest in literature.

Turkey: Investment Conference
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
8:00 - 12:15pm

The Turkish-American Business Council (TAIK)of DEIK, The American Turkish Society and Bloomberg LP present an in-depth look at Turkey's political background, the pace of reform, EU process, effects of the global slowdown, trade policy and exports, Turkey as the risk bellwether, Turkey and the IMF, fiscal policy, currency policy and the path of the Lira, financial sector and the credit crunch, new funding patterns, capital movements, future of FDI, private equity, real estate investments, CAD and TL value, industrial production, exports vs. domestic demand.

Speakers will include Ali Babacan, State Minister, and Deputy Prime Minister in charge of coordination of the Turkish economy as well as senior government and private sector representatives.

The conference is free and by invitation only. Space is limited and RSVP is required for entry.

Please RSVP to naseminar@bloomberg.net by September 25. Online registration is not available for this event.

Priority will be given to ATS and TAIK members and supporters.The event is closed to press.

The American Turkish Society is pleased to invite you to a reception with Orhan Dolapci and Gonca Canyurt, teachers from Turkey and this year’s The American Turkish Society – AFS Global Educators.

Please join us for a chance to meet Orhan and Gonca and to hear about their experiences of teaching in the U.S. before they go back to Turkey.

The AFS Global Educators Program brings professional educators from around the world into K-12 classrooms throughout the United States. This program provides an excellent opportunity for schools that have an interest in internationalizing their curriculums and bringing the world into their classrooms. Through the program, participating teachers expand their knowledge of other cultures and educational systems while sharing information about their own countries and experiences with their host school communities. This exchange continues when the visiting teachers return to their home countries and share their experiences abroad with their students and colleagues.
As a part of its education mission, The American Turkish Society has been in partnership with AFS-USA and supporting the Global Educators Program since 2002.

Orhan Dolapci, from Istanbul, Turkey, has been teaching English to primary school students and adult English language learners. He received his B.A. in Applied Linguistics from Marmara University and his M.A. in Educational Management and Supervision from Yeditepe University. Orhan is taking a semester sabbatical from his current position T.E.V. Zahide Zehra Garring State Primary School to participate in the AFS Global Educators Program. During the program, Orhan would like to develop his English skills and expand on his professional knowledge as well as share Turkish culture with his host school and community. Orhan has been teaching at Lanier Middle School in Houston, TX.

Gonca Canyurt has a strong background in mathematics and pedagogy. She has taught arithmetic, geometry, algebra, trigonometry, and calculus at the high school level. She uses presentations, discovery-learning, problem-solving, and group work methods to engage her students. She also emphasizes the practical uses of math to make the subject relevant, such as the importance of calculations in building bridges or buildings. Gonca has also written questions for exams and study guides. She hopes to provide her host school and community with important insights into the Turkish culture and contribute innovative techniques to the mathematics curriculum. Visiting America has been one of Gonca’s greatest dreams and she hopes to leave with improved language skills and new teaching strategies. Gonca has been teaching at Fall River High School in Fall River, WI.

AFS is a world leader in intercultural learning and offers international exchange programs for its students and educators. Operating in more than 50 countries as independent, non-profit organizations, each AFS International partner has a volunteer base, a professionally staffed office, and a board of directors. AFS has been exchanging young people and educators throughout the world for more than 60 years.

This event is free and open to the public. Space is limited. To RSVP, please register online or email info@americanturkishsociety.org by Friday, June 12, by 5:00 pm. For questions, please call 212.583.7614

We are pleased to share with you the links of an article by Orhan Dolapci, of a local newspaper, Daily Citizen, where Gonca Canyurt was interviewed, and the school newsletter in which she addresses the school community:

The American Turkish Society will award its Annual Corporate Partnership Award to Muhtar Kent, President and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company and Tuncay Özilhan, Chairman and CEO of Anadolu Group at its 2009 Gala Dinner on May 28.

Madeleine K. Albright, Former U.S. Secretary of State and Principal, The Albright Group LLC and Rahmi M. Koç, Honorary Chairman, Koç Holding A.Ş. will serve as dinner committee co-chairs at the event.

The gala dinner will celebrate the partnership of The Coca-Cola Company and Anadolu Group, anchored in Coca-Cola İçecek and based on shared values, sound business management, and a deep commitment to sustainable growth.

The evening will also commemorate The American Turkish Society's 60th anniversary and long-standing U.S.-Turkish relations.

For more information, please visit our Annual Gala page, or contact The Society at 212.583.7614 or gala@americanturkishsociety.org

THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT.

The American Turkish Society, in collaboration with London School of Economics and Political Science and The Levin Institute of The State University of New York, presents a lecture

“EU-Turkey Relations at a Critical Juncture”

by

Professor Sevket Pamuk
Chair, Contemporary Turkish Studies, European Institute, London School of Economics and Political Science

Opening Remarks by
His Excellency Mr. Fernando M. Valenzuela
Ambassador, Head of the Delegation of the European Commission to the UN

Tuesday, April 7, 2009
6:00 – 6:30pm Registration
6:30 – 7:30pm Program
7:30 – 8:00pm Reception

The Levin Institute
116 East 55th Street
New York, New York 10022

Turkey was formally accepted as a candidate for EU membership in 2004 but there has been little progress since. This lecture looks at the reasons behind the current stalemate and the prospects for the future.

Professor Sevket Pamuk is Chair of Contemporary Turkish Studies at the European Institute, London School of Economics and Political Science. He is a leading economic historian of the Ottoman Empire, the Middle East and modern Turkey. After attending high school in Istanbul, he graduated from Yale University and obtained his PhD. degree in Economics from the University of California at Berkeley. He has since taught at various universities in Turkey and the United States including Ankara, Pennsylvania, Villanova, Princeton, Michigan at Ann Arbor, Northwestern and beginning in 1994 at Bogaziçi (Bosphorus) University, Istanbul as Professor of Economics and Economic History.

Special Thanks to SUNY Office of International Programs and the Delegation of the European Commission to the United Nations.

(THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT.) This event is free and open to the public. Space is limited. Pre-registration and ID is strictly required for entry. No walk-ins will be allowed. To RSVP, please register online or fill out the registration form below and fax to 212.583.7615 by Friday, April 3, by 5:00 pm. Members of the press wishing to cover the event, please contact The American Turkish Society. For questions, please call 212.583.7614 or email info@americanturkishsociety.org.

The American Turkish Society Presents a Film Screening and Discussion

Queen of the Mountain: Theresa Goell’s Work in Turkey

Martha Goell Lubell
Producer/Director

Donald H. Sanders, Ph.D.
President, Learning Sites, Inc.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009
6:00pm – 8:30pm
Following registration at 6:00pm, program will start promptly at 6:30pm. Latecomers will not be seated. Please arrive early.

Temple Emanu-El
One East 65th Street (between 5th and Madison Avenue)
New York City

Theresa Goell abandoned the comfortable lifestyle of her conservative Jewish family in Brooklyn to study archeology. Beginning in 1953, Goell excavated the spectacular burial site of King Antiochus I on Nemrud Dagi, a 7,000-foot-high mountain three days’ walk from the nearest post office. The virtually unknown mountaintop site in Southeastern Turkey became her life’s passion. Struggling with a hearing disability, her work was nothing short of extraordinary, bringing roads, tourists and employment to the impoverished local population.

In the film “Queen of the Mountain,” Theresa Goell’s saga comes to life through breathtaking National Geographic archival footage of the excavations, hundreds of family photographs and finally Goell’s stunning oral history and letters, read by acclaimed actress Tovah Feldshuh. The screening will be followed by a discussion on Goell’s life and the archeological site of Nemrud Dagi, with her niece Martha Goell Lubell, who produced and directed the film in 2005, and Dr. Donald H. Sanders, who coordinated the full publication of Goell’s excavation report following her passing in 1985.

The Sanctuary of Nemrud Dagi is one of the most remarkable, best preserved, but least known monuments of Asia Minor. The site, called by its builder a hierothesion, or "common dwelling place of all the gods next to the heavenly thrones," is situated 2150m above sea level, atop one of the highest peaks in the Anti-Taurus Mountains of southeastern Turkey near the banks of the Euphrates River. The monument is one of the premier sites of the Late Hellenistic period. It was constructed by King Antiochus I of Commagene in the mid-1st century BC to command a 360o view of the ranges, plains, and towns that comprised his ancient kingdom.

Special Thanks to National Organization for Hearing Research Foundation, Women Make Movies, and Temple Emanu-El.

Space is limited. Pre-registration and ID is strictly required for entry. No walk-ins will be allowed. To register, please register online below or fill out the registration form and fax to 212.583.7615 by Tuesday, March 3, by noon. Press attendance is limited; members of the press wishing to cover the event, please contact The Society. For questions, please call 212.583.7614 or email info@americanturkishsociety.org.

Light Millenium, in collaboration with the Columbia University Middle Eastern and Asian Languages and Cultures and Middle East Institute, and the Consulate General of Sweden in New York, proudly presents a book presentation and signing

Turkey Decoded
by
Ann Dismorr
Swedish Ambassador to Turkey from 2001-2005

Introduction of the author by:
Ambassador Ulf Hjertonsson

Moderator:
Professor Peter Awn
Dean of General Studies and Director of MEI at Columbia University

Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Registration and reception at 6:30pm, with program to follow

Columbia University, International Affairs Building (IAB room 1501, 15th floor)
420 W. 118th Street (at Amsterdam Avenue)

The American Turkish Society, as a part of its Meet the Ambassadors program, will host a reception in honor of Ambassador Ann Dismorr and guests at the event.

Ann Dismorr’s book, Turkey Decoded, examines Turkey’s foreign policy, ties with the US and the Middle East, as well as troubled relations with the EU. As Dismorr notes, obstacles to Turkey’s path toward the European Union lie within Turkey as well as within the borders of the EU. As a secular democracy with an overwhelming Muslim population, Turkey could hold the key to increased understanding and tolerance between East and West. But there is a growing concern in both Turkey and the West about Turkey’s "Islamization."

Ann Dismorr was the Swedish Ambassador to Turkey from 2001–2005. She has extensive knowledge of the region and of Islam, having lived in Saudi Arabia, worked on the Middle East peace process and served as an ambassador in Lebanon. Since 2006 she is the Ambassador/Head of the International Department of the Swedish Parliament, working actively to enhance the understanding and dialogue with the Muslim world.

This event is free and open to the general public. Space is limited. The registration link below is not valid for this event. RSVP by Tuesday, February 24, 2009, 5pm, to contact@lightmillennium.org

The American Turkish Society’s Meet the Ambassadors program and DEIK/Turkish-American Business Council (TAİK) cordially invite you to a reception honoring

H.E. Nabi Sensoy
Ambassador of Turkey to the United States
with remarks on
"Turkish Foreign Policy"

Friday, February 20, 2009
6:00 - 6:30 pm Reception
6:30 - 7:00 pm Remarks by H.E. Ambassador Sensoy and Q & A
7:00 - 8:00 pm Reception and opportunity to visit Beyond Babylon exhibition

The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Patrons Lounge, 4th Floor
1000 Fifth Avenue, New York City
(Please use entrance at 81st Street)

H.E. Ambassador Nabi Sensoy was born in Istanbul in 1945. After graduating from the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Ankara, he started his career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1970 and has since served in various high-level posts, including Consul General in London, Deputy Undersecretary, and Ambassador to Madrid and Moscow. He has been serving as the Ambassador to the United States since 2006.

Following H.E. Ambassador Sensoy’s remarks and reception, guests will have an opportunity to visit Beyond Babylon: Art, Trade, and Diplomacy in the Second Millennium B.C. until the museum’s closing at 8:45pm.

Beyond Babylon: Art, Trade, and Diplomacy in the Second Millennium B.C., on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art until March 15, 2009, focuses on the extraordinary art created as a result of a sophisticated network of interaction that developed among kings, diplomats, merchants, and others in the Near East during the second millennium B.C. In addition, Beyond Babylon features cargo of the oldest known seagoing ship, which was wrecked near Uluburun, off the southern coast of Turkey in the Mediterranean Sea, around 1300 B.C. and discovered in 1982. DEIK/Turkish-American Business Council (TAİK) along with Dogus, Dogan, Koc and Sabanci Groups are proud to be the corporate sponsors of the exhibition.

The American Turkish Society, founded in 1949, is America’s oldest not-for-profit organization seeking to enhance ties between Turkey and the United States. The Society achieves its mission by bringing together leaders in government and business, as well as journalists, scholars and artists covering a spectrum of fields. Its Meet the Ambassadors program has hosted numerous U.S. and Turkish Ambassadors over the years. In addition, The Society initiates and sponsors a variety of educational and cultural exchange opportunities between the two countries. The American Turkish Society is a 501 (c) 3 charitable organization.

Turkish-American Business Council (TAİK), founded in 1985, is the largest and most established of the 82 bilateral councils operating under the permanent secretariat of Turkey’s international trade umbrella, The Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey (DEİK). TAİK’s vision is to increase the volume of Turkey-U.S. trade, to be recognized as the source of information and networking on bilateral issues for both Turkish and U.S. companies and to assist U.S. companies to view Turkey as a key partner and destination for direct investments in the region.

Space is extremely limited. Pre-registration is first-come, first-served and is strictly required for entry. No walk-ins will be allowed. To RSVP, please register online, e-mail info@americanturkishsociety.org, or call The Society at 212.583-7614 by Wednesday, February 18.

The American Turkish Society is a proud sponsor of a recital performed by internationally renowned pianist Idil Biret, presented by Turkish Women’s League of America to benefit the Ataturk School.

Thursday, February 19, 2009
6:30PM

The Times Center
242 West 41st Street
New York, NY 10036

The space is limited.
Ticket prices: Regular: $65, VIP: $100

Born in Ankara, Idil Biret started to play the piano at the age of three and later studied at the Paris Conservatoire under the guidance of Nadia Boulanger, graduating at the age of fifteen with three first prizes. She was a pupil of Alfred Cortot and a lifelong disciple of Wilhelm Kempff. She embarked on her career as a soloist at the age of sixteen appearing with major orchestras in the principal music centers in the of the world in collaboration with conductors of greatest distinction. To many major festival appearances may be added membership of juries for international competitions including the Van Cliburn, Queen Elisabeth of the Belgians and Busoni competitions. She has received the Lili Boulanger memorial Award in Boston, the Harriet Cohen / Dinu Lipatti Gold Medal in London, the Polish Cavalry Cross and the Distinguished Service Medals, the Adelaide Ristori Prize in Italy, the French Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite and the State Artist distinction in Turkey. Her more than eighty records since the 1960s for many labels including EMI, Decca, Atlantic (Finnadar), Naxos and IBA include the complete piano works of Beethoven, Chopin, Brahms and Rachmaninov as well as works of Boulez, Ligeti and Strawinsky.

To purchase tickets online, please visit Turkish Women’s League of America website or return the reply form below.
The registration link below is not valid for this event.

All proceeds from this event will benefit the Ataturk School, a 37-year-old institution that aims to educate 4-14 year-old children in Turkish language and culture.

The American Turkish Society and Moon and Stars Project
Present a Reading and Discussion of
ISTANBUL NOIR: An Anthology of Istanbul Stories

Featuring
Mustafa Ziyalan
Editor and Translator
and
Yasemin Aydinoglu
Author

Moderated by
Ibrahim Ahmad
Akashic Books

Please join us for a reading, discussion and book signing featuring Istanbul Noir, the 26th book in the Akashic Books’ groundbreaking series of original noir anthologies set in cities all over the world.

A city at once ancient and modern, Istanbul is the quintessentially postcard-perfect metropolis. But don’t let the alluring vistas fool you: For beneath its veneer as the meeting place of cultures, religions, and ethnicities, lies a heart of darkness, seething with suppressed desire, boiling with frustration, and burning with a fervor for vengeance. If there is a city with its own unique brew of noir, Istanbul is it. Comprised entirely of new stories by some of Turkey’s most exciting authors—some still up-and-coming, others well-established and critically acclaimed in their homeland, as well as by a couple of “outsiders” temporarily held hostage in the city’s vice—Istanbul Noir introduces a whole new breed of talent.

To purchase online, please go to www.akashicbooks.com/istanbulnoir.htm. The book is also available in bookstores and will be sold at the event.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009
6:00-8:00pm
Light refreshments will be provided.

The American Turkish Society
3 Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, 305 E. 47th Street (at Second Avenue), 8th Floor
New York, NY 10017

SOLD OUT.
This event is free and open to public. Space is limited. Pre‐registration is strictly required. To RSVP, please register online below or fill out the registration form and fax it to The American Turkish Society at 212.583.7615 by Friday, January 30, 2009. For questions, please email info@americanturkishsociety.org or call 212.583.7614.

Speakers:
Murat Sungur Bursa, CEO, Zorlu Energy Group
Eva Sanchez, CEEMA Senior Strategist, JPMorgan Chase
Ernest Stern, Partner, The Rohatyn Group

Moderated by:
Ayse Yuksel, Esq., Partner, Chadbourne & Parke LLP

Please join our experts for a conversation on the economic and financial outlook for Turkey in 2009 and beyond, discussing the possible impacts of the current global crisis on economic growth, financial markets, foreign investment, and fiscal and monetary health in the country.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009
6:00-6:15pm Registration
6:15-7:30pm Discussion and Q&A
7:30-8:00pm Reception

Chadbourne & Parke LLP
30 Rockefeller Plaza - 36th Floor*
(50th Street and 5th Avenue)
New York, NY 10112

*Upon arrival, proceed directly towards the 28 - 40 floor elevator bank closest to the 50th Street entrance and confirm your name with the Chadbourne representative. The event will take place in the boardroom on the 36th floor.

Special thanks to our sponsor Chadbourne & Park LLP

Space is limited. Pre‐registration and ID is strictly required for entry. No walk‐ins will be allowed. To register, please register online below or fill out the registration form and fax to 212.583.7615 by Wednesday, January 21, by 5:00 pm. Press attendance is limited; members of the press wishing to cover the event, please contact The Society. For questions, please call 212.583.7614 or email info@americanturkishsociety.org.